In many industrial activities where heavy electrical loads are utilized, it is necessary to provide adequate cable end connectors which must not only be safe in operation but should also be relatively easy to manipulate with minimal labor and time requirements. A common form of heavy cable electrical connector comprises a generally cylindrical metal member having a tubular portion at its rear end to receive the end of the cable conductor. The metal conductor, inserted in the tubular portion at one end of the connector is held in place by set screws extending through the side of the connector. The forward end of the metal connector has either a male or female extension so that it can connect with a similar metal connector having a mating male or female connector. Such mating metal connector pairs are connected by an axial movement followed by relative twisting and are commonly known in the field as cam-lock connectors. For obvious reasons it is necessary to provide an insulating housing or covering around each connector. Heretofore, such coverings were made from rubber or thermo-plastic sleeve-like devices called shrouds which fit closely around the metal connector. Such prior art insulating devices were cumbersome, inefficient and particularly difficult to install using time-consuming procedures.
In order for the connector shroud to be effective it was necessary for it to restrict both axial and rotational movement of the connector inside the shroud. With prior art shrouds this was accomplished by: (1) locating a protrusion or stud that projected from the side of the connector into a solid recess inside the shroud; or (2) by driving a screw through the shroud and into the connector. Both of the aforesaid methods presented serious difficulties. In the first method it was difficult to locate the connector stud as the shroud was pulled over the connector. This was a critical problem because improper assembly of the shroud resulted in free rotational movement of the connector within the shroud. Also, it was impossible without special tools to remove the connector from the shroud to repair or replace it in the field. Thus, the alternative procedure was to cut away and destroy the old shroud and replace it with a new one. In the second method it was necessary during the assembly of the shroud to align a through hole in the shroud, for the screw, with a threaded hole in the connector. An insulated head was required on the screw so that no raw metal would be exposed on the shroud, but such heads were subject to breakage and created a potential shock hazard.
Another difficulty with prior art shrouds used in both of the aforesaid assembly methods was that they were designed to fit close around the metal connector. Thus, these tubular shrouds were made somewhat smaller than the connector and had to be stretched when installed. Often, grease was applied to the cables to enable the shroud to be pulled into position over the connector. Also, for both of the prior installation methods, it was often necessary to cut the shrouds to suit a particular cable size and this resulted in an imprecise mating of the shroud exit with the cable jacket. Since the prior art shrouds were close to the connector surface, they often tended to over-heat due to high current flow and, in some instances failed to provide adequate protection to users.
A general object of the present invention is to provide an insulating housing for cam-lock metal connectors used on heavy electrical conductors that solves the aforesaid problems.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide an insulating housing for electrical cam-lock connectors that is easy to install in a relatively short period of time without the need for special tools or skilled labor.
Other objects of the invention are to provide a rigid insulating housing for electrical cam-lock connectors that: (1) retains the connector firmly within the housing so that it can have no axial or rotational movement relative to the housing; (2) provides for a heat dissipating air space around the metal connector within the housing that prevents the housing from overheating; (3) provides for removable cable gripping inserts that prevents the cable from applying any torsion loads on the connector; (4) provides a means for sealing the connector within the housing to prevent moisture penetration when the latter is installed.